Thursday, November 20, 2008

Where Did The National Enquirer Go In 1978?

Sure, I've been mocking the 1979 National Enquirer bits, but have I ever really considered just how far the National Enquirer has gone? No, I don't mean the depths of hell, the limits of decency -- I mean on the map.

All for me!

Oh, the quality reporting! Logging 1,183,338 miles, they went to London to cover the world's first test tube baby and even went to Guyana twice in '78 to cover the Jamestown suicides.

And don't you go thinking they just sent 'reporters' to Alaska to gather information about "secret Soviet psychic research" -- they went to Moscow too.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Theater Is Too Kitsch

“Forbidden Broadway,” the satirical revue of the New York theater scene, regularly updated with the passing seasons, has spoofed and skewered the best and worst theatrical performances since Gerard Alessandrini introduced it in 1982. Four months from now — on Jan. 15, 2009, the 27th anniversary of the show’s debut at Palsson’s Supper Club on West 72nd Street — “Forbidden Broadway” will close, with no firm plans to reopen, Mr. Alessandrini said.

The show has gone on hiatus before, when it moved theaters in 1988 and when it took a two-year break for financial reasons in 1994. This time, however, the decision to close is strictly artistic.

“When I look at the seasons coming up, I don’t particularly think we’ll have a great opportunity to have really funny numbers about ‘Shrek’ or another ‘Guys and Dolls’ revival or some of the stuff that’s coming out,” Mr. Alessandrini said by phone before a rehearsal on Friday for “Forbidden Broadway Goes to Rehab,” which opens on Wednesday at the 47th Street Theater.